Thursday, August 24, 2017

Maximize Your Longevity with the Amazing Power of Yoga

In the course of my work as a trial consultant, I spend a
fair amount of time in law offices working with litigators – lawyers who try
cases in the courtroom. I had scheduled a work session with an attorney for
10:30 a.m., figuring we’d only need a couple of hours, and we’d be done before
lunch. Imagine my surprise when I received a call from the attorney – a woman
in her late 60’s - requesting that we
move the meeting to 10:00 a.m., so that she could make it to the yoga class her
law firm held in their offices at noon!

My first thought was “What an enlightened law firm!” My
second was “Yes, of course! I’d be delighted to change the appointment time” –
even though it meant I had to re-arrange my morning to accommodate her. I was
thrilled that this firm understood the tremendous importance of respecting the
well-being of their attorneys, that it was willing not only to pay for the
instructor, but to make a room available for yoga and forgo what would
otherwise be “billable hours” from the attending attorneys. And doubly thrilled
that the litigator I was working with valued herself enough to participate in
the class.

Yoga does so much good for body and soul, especially for
those of us over 60. Here are but a few examples of vibrant women whose
dedication to yoga has paid off in joy, health and longevity:

Bette
Calman, 90, a highly respected yoga teacher for 50 years, she’s now known
as “Yoga Super Granny.” She shot to international fame when she starred in an
Advil commercial during the 2016 Super Bowl.

Tao
Porchon-Lynch, 98, was recognized as the world's oldest yoga teacher by the
Guinness Book of World Records at age
93 – and she’s still teaching! Her phenomenal background includes marching with
Mahatma Gandhi twice, and helping people escape the Nazis as a French
Resistance fighter during World War II. Besides yoga, she took up ballroom
dancing at the “young” age of 85. Tao’s mantra is “There is nothing you cannot
do.” It’s one she has taken to heart throughout her life and is a great example
for all of us.

Anna
Pesce, 87, corrected her hunchback posture in just 2 years with the help of
a certified back-care yoga instructor. She says she feels wonderful now because
she can drive and do many things she couldn’t before.

So how does it work? How, specifically, does yoga benefit
your body and mind?

In terms of your body, yoga improves balance, which becomes
increasingly important as we age. Yoga promotes bone strength, because the
nature of the movements themselves improves bone density, which tends to
decrease over time. Yoga is a low-impact form of exercise, which means that it
strengthens your muscles gently, and in the process, prevents them from
atrophying. Stronger muscles mean less stress on your joints, thus easing
arthritis.

Yoga also lowers blood pressure without putting undue
pressure on your cardiovascular system, which is why it is (for most people,
always check with your physician!) particularly well suited as part of a
lowering-blood-pressure program. Because yoga incorporates deep breathing as a
part of the practice, more oxygen is circulated throughout your body, to the
benefit of all your internal organs and systems.

On the plus side for your mental and emotional state, yoga stimulates
certain chemical releases in the body that can diminish anxiety and promote an
overall feeling of relaxation. Because yoga relieves tension, many find that it
improves their sleep. Along with that, yoga has been shown to increase your
memory and ability to process cognitively, something we all can appreciate as
we grow into our later years!

Why is it important to know about the benefits of yoga? Because
it lends itself to a little-known health trick: The more you know about how something benefits you, the greater the
benefit.

Nowhere was
this phenomenon better demonstrated than in the remarkable “Hotel Maids” study. The maids in two hotels did work that added up to more than 30
minutes of daily exercise. At the first hotel, the researchers told the maids
how many calories they burned as they cleaned their way through the equivalent
of 30 minutes of exercise. The researchers said nothing to the maids at the
second hotel. After just one month, having made no changes to their diet or
exercise routine outside of work (which was virtually nil), the maids in the
first hotel weighed an average
of two pounds less, had a smaller percent of body fat, and systolic blood
pressure an average of 10 points lower. The maids in the second hotel
experienced no change.

What
happened? The maids in the first hotel now had information about specific
benefits of their work beyond a paycheck. Their subconscious transmitted the benefits-message
to their bodies, which resulted in weight loss, less body fat and lower blood
pressure. Yet the maids weren’t physically doing anything different.

Of course,
maid work is much different than yoga, but the concept is the same. Harness the
power of your mind as you engage in the practice of yoga. Know the specific
value and benefits that yoga brings to you, both physically and mentally. You
cannot help but thrive!

Noelle
Nelson, PhD is passionate about personal growth, happiness and appreciating
this amazing experience called “life.” She’s devoted the last three years to
the study of longevity and wrote the book, “Happy Healthy . . . Dead: Why
What You Think You Know About Aging Is Wrong And How To Get It Right.” She
continues to uncover many amazing people
who are in the 80s, 90s and beyond who are doing wonderful and exciting thingswith
enthusiasm and gusto regardless of age or physical condition. Find their
stories on Facebook at Meet
The Amazings!

About Me

I'm a psychologist, consultant and speaker who has authored over a dozen books, all of which focus on empowering individuals to be happier, healthier and more successful at work, at home and in relationships. The power of appreciation is the theme that runs through all my books, the latest being "Happy Healthy...Dead: Happy Healthy…Dead: Why What You Think You Know About Aging Is Wrong and How To Get It Right.” If you'd like to know more, please visit www.noellenelson.com!
Thank you.